The Washington critic., 1887-02-17
Mrs. ArlnKAY,S CdREER.
From n virginia City Boarding-Houso
TO Royal Courts Abroad.

TO Royal Courts Abroai'
This is indeed peculiar world"
said a mining expert at the Planters
House to reporter of the 81. Louis
Rcpu6iicdR. Here | pick up the
papers and read of Mrs. Mackay's
doings in Paris--how she receives the
sclons OF royalty, how she entertains,
how she appears at the opera, how she
dresses, and how she does thousand
other things; and then can scarcely
conceive that eighteen years ago she
kept boarding house In Virginia City,
and that | was one Of her boarders.
Yet 1t is true, and often ponder over
1t. She was young widow then, with
an interesting child, who has since
matured into n young lady and was
recently married to uu Italian prince
OF some kind. That little girl has
often sat on my knee with q little tin
can in her hand which contained the
contributions of her admirers. In those
days We lived principally on canned
food, and Mrs. Mackay's back
yard was paved with lin cans.
The child had selected very
pretty can which one of the boarders
transformed into little bank. This
was partly filed with coin, the result of
tribute which she levied on her
friends. She would climb on the
boarders' knees, and, shaking her lit.
tie bank, would say: is you lucky to.
dalr This query had the desired cf.
feet, and the bank receipts were In.
creased. Even in her days of distress
Mrs. Mackay was Il good woman. She
personally superlntcnlcl affairs and
made her bOarders rs comfortable as
possible. was then superintendent
under Fair, and Mackay was already n
millionaire. Mining stock was the
rage then, and remember often hoS
she would come TO me and some of the
other boarders and ask our advice about
certain stocks, aud am happy to say
that the advice | gave her was gool
and II had taken 1t myself | would
now be $4,000, 900 or $4,000, $50 better
off than am.
Then Mackay took shine to the
widow, and being reputcd one Of the
woalthiest men in the camp, he found
smooth sailing. He couldn't win on
Ills shape nor his beauty, for every
body that has seen Mackay knows that
he wouldn't take apri2e in congress
OF beauty. They were married, and
| the little girl no longer sat on miners
knees, and mammals delicate hand no
| longer placed cOrned beef and cabbage
on miners plates. They rose foster
than Sheridan stock did last summer,
the only difference being that their rise
was backed by hard coin. The great
ComstOck lode continued to pour forth
its richness, and Mackay and his part.
ner became immensely wealthy. Al
though reared in poor circumstances,
Mrs. Mackay showed her good sense
by securing a private tutor, by whom
she was drilled and educated for 1--we
years. The little daughter was put
through the same course and fitted to
shine In the most cultured society OF
the Old World. Then came the
conquests In New York, San Francisco
and finally the trips to Europe. A year
ago, | was in Paris, and one evening
attended performance at the Grand
Opera. House, 1t was a first night and
prominent In a private box were two
ladies, bedCcked with diamonds ami
festooned with flowers. They were
the cynosure of all eyes, and lcveling
my glasses, l discovered behind the
silks, flowers, and diamonds the face of
my former landlady in Virginia City.
The outlines were the same, but time
had wrought its changes. The young
lady with her was the little girl who
used to play on my knee. She had
outgrown my recollection. As stood
looking at them midst the flashing
lights, the incense of flowers, and the
delicious music, | could not help re.
calling something of
"Some one who breasted high water,
| Swan the North Fork and all that
Just to dance with old Folansbcc's daugh'
ter,
The lily of Poverty Flat"